It Was Raining
by NotAnIslander
Summary: Originally written for Growing Back Together on Tumblr. The Prompt was: Rain. It's about Katniss and Peeta, and how the birth of their daughter brings Katniss full circle.


Special thanks to Lionheart Rising for a quick beta job! Thanks you!

This was originally written for "Growing Back Together" on Tumblr. The prompt was: Rain.

 **It Was Raining**

She was born during the springtime, during an April shower. Katniss didn't know it at the time, but this little "April Shower" would be Katniss' "May Flower".This little girl, this April shower, would be the thing that would be the "full-circle moment" for Katniss, when her life seemed to suddenly make sense. It was important for Peeta as well, but mostly for Katniss.

It was raining that day when she was 11, almost 12. She sat under the apple tree, staring off in despair. It didn't really matter, did it? Did anything matter? Did Prim? Her mother? Her father? Anything? No. Nothing mattered. All she knew, at this very moment, was that no matter how hard she struggled, no matter how hard she tried, it all came down to this. To nothing. To death.

But then he threw the bread. And her life forever changed.

It was raining when they were in the cave in that first arena. For a brief moment in time, it was just the two of them. It was easy to put the Games, the camera's, the death, out of their minds for now. It was just the two of them. Sharing stories, sharing memories, sharing laughs. Sharing kisses. For once, there was a new kind of hunger for Katniss. One she didn't expect. One she didn't know she wanted. Now that she had it, would it ever go away?

But then he misinterpreted her silence. And her life is forever changed.

It was raining in the second arena- the Quarter Quell arena. But it wasn't water. It was blood. It was ironic, really. Instead of the rain purifying, it made things dirty. It made things insufferable. Was it an attempt by the Gamemakers to show the Victor's that they all had blood on their hands? Not just their hands, but their whole being? Maybe they did. Even Peeta had some blood on his soul. But, unlike the other Victor's, his blood was a mercy killing. Even in this Quarter Quell, Peeta shines brighter than the rest. But, he's still here, and before this "game" has ended, he'll have just as much blood on him as everyone else in this crazy place. He is still the purest one in here.

But then the arena collapsed, and they forget to rescue him. And his life is forever changed.

It was raining all through the war. But it wasn't water. It was bombs. Bombs rained down on District 12, destroying it. Bombs rained down on District 13, but thanks to Peeta and strong defenses, it wasn't destroyed. Bombs instigated the rescue of the Victors. They were all rescued (well, except for Enobaria, but who knew where she was?), but they weren't all rescued. They left parts of them behind in the Capitol. Peeta left his sanity. Annie, her security. And Johanna? She left her self-worth.

It was raining bombs during the attack on the Capitol. When the pods exploded, and Peeta attacked. But it was that last one though, that last killing that actually saved him, and her. Because he saw for himself what the Capitol had done. And it changed him, and her. It drew them back together. "Stay with ME!" "Always!"

But then there was the Victor's vote. And he looked away from her.

One might say it was a rain of arrows that started this war, and one arrow that ended it. Even in the training centre, before the first games, when Katniss shot an arrow at the gamemakers. It was a warning that this girl was not to be taken lightly. It was an arrow shot in the dark at the sky that started the bombing of District 12, that started the war full fledged. And it was an arrow shot at a dictator that ended the war. Ended it forever. Did she shoot the wrong president? Some say yes, some say they don't know. This will be one for the historians to figure out.

But Katniss knows, as she sits in her training room, locked in and all alone. And she sings the songs of her father and her people.

It was raining that day back in 12. It's taken some time to get better. To get up, to get moving. Peeta returned and looked at her again. _His arms are there to comfort me. And eventually his lips. On the night I feel that thing again, the hunger that overtook me…_ They sit there, staring out of the doorway, watching the rain wash the years of despair and desolation away. They know now, again, for always, that they are better together. When one is lost, the other will find them. Always.

But the hunger never really went away, did it? It never really will go away will it? And they fill each other up with their love.

It was raining the day she was born. Their little girl was the perfect combination of the two of them. Her hair, his eyes, her mouth, his chin. All ten fingers and toes, and a personality all her own. She was the culmination of years of hope. Their little girl was the dandelion Katniss should have given Peeta when they were kids, but couldn't seem to find the words. This little bundle, this little gift, this little full circle moment. She was born into a world that wouldn't know despair, or hunger, or war. Not firsthand at least, and not as intensely as her parents.

But the fear Katniss had never fully went away, though Peeta promised her. And then she was there, a gift to Katniss, to show her mother that life is good again.


End file.
